At a 4-8 record, the Jones girls varsity basketball team heads into winter break after placing second in the Hyde Park Thanksgiving Tournament and looking to build on positives in 2023. 

Overall, the season has been one of transition due to the loss of the Class of 2022.

“I think so far it’s been an adjustment, especially because we lost a lot of seniors last year,” said Malia Harrington ‘23. “The overall energy has kind of shifted, and we’re just getting used to having a new team this year.”

Head Coach Nick Teich sees improvement every time the team takes the court.

“I think we’ve gotten better every game. I think our intensity has improved every game, and our execution is getting better game by game as well. We’re looking to put four consecutive quarters together with high intensity and quality execution,” said Teich. 

Quality games so far include a number of well-played losses.

“Despite losing to Brooks, I feel like that game we played our best,” said Triseana Williams ‘24. “We played with more intensity. We found our groove, we found what we’re good at. I think throughout the season, knowing that now is going to make us better.”

Teich sees a silver lining in the Brooks loss.

“I think where we looked the best in terms of execution is our game against Brooks,” said Teich. “I think we looked the best in terms of intensity.”

Coordination and offensive implementation were included as things to improve on.

“As individuals, we’re all really good players,” said Harrington. “It’s just sometimes we don’t execute as a group.”

The offense has proven to be solid in spite of certain inconsistencies.

“The offense is doing well with ball movement. We have to do a little bit better job of being able to state like score within our offense,” said Teich. “We do a good job as well of getting up and down the floor and scoring in transition.”

Although the team may lack some stability, Harrington carries confidence there are playmakers in good spots.

“Offensively, we haven’t been as consistent as I think we should be,” said Harrington. “But I think in general, we have people on our team that can score when we need to and show up in really big spots.”

Players also believe that having more team chemistry will lead to offensive improvement.

“At the beginning of the season, since we hadn’t really known how we played as a team together it was hard for us to execute our plays,” said Kylynn White ‘25. “But I feel like now that we’ve gotten closer as a team it’s been easier for us.”

Along with the improving offense, the team sports a strong defense.

“Defensively we’ve been good. I feel like that’s our best [aspect] right now,” said Harrington. “Especially because we have a really young team, so we’re all fast and moving.”

The players are looking forward to playing other conference teams.

“I’m just ready for all the rivalries,” said Williams. “Taft, Lincoln Park, Payton.”

Harrington emphasized the Payton game as one the team has circled.

“Payton is an away game, and last year the energy was so high because it was a really close game,” said Harrington.

Teich highlighted four players stepping up on the court so far this season.

“Nyla Griffin [‘25] has shown a lot of leadership [as well as] Malia Harrington. She’s played some great on-ball defense,” said Teich. “Rachel Schettler [‘24] has done a good job of defending the rim and the lane and rebounding. And Kylynn White is getting better every game.”